Railway-car-doob-cowtbol mechanism



D.HlNDAHL. RAILWAY CAR D008 CONTROL MECHANISM.

APFLICATION FILED OCT. 25, I917.

1,308,422. Patented July 1, 1919.

THE COLUMBIA PLnNOQRAml co., WASHINGTON, I). c.

UNITED STATES DAVID HINDAHL, or CHICAGO, rLLrnoIs.

RAILWAY-GAR-DOOR-CONTROL MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, DAVID HINDAI-IL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Car-Door- Control Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to dump cars, and more particularly to door control mechanism therefor. 1

One of the objects of the invention is to obviate the use of saddles for limiting the drop of the drop doors.

Another object is to supportedly suspend ghe drop doors regardless of the extent of rop.

Another object is to provide drop door control mechanism for railway cars adapted to meet the various requirements for successful commercial operation. 1

Generally speaking, these and other objects are accomplished by providing, in a railway car, a plurality of drop doors, the extent of drop of which differs, and means whereby the doors are supportedly suspends ed by their respective chains regardless of the extent of dro i The invention 1s illustrated on the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which? Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a dump car embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the same taken in the plane of line 22 of Fig.1; and,

Fig. 3 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of part of the control mechanism for the drop doors.

The various novel features of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

By referring to the figures of the draw.- ings, it will be noted that I have shown a freight dump ear 10'having in the,.floor thereof a plurality of pivotally mounted doors 11, '12, 13 and 14, which are duplicated on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the car. These doors, shown in Fig. 2, are ,pivotally mounted, as I at. 15,. to any Specification of Letters Patent suitable part of the framestructure of the car, and when moved into an opened position swing downwardly and inwardlyiwith respect tothe center line of the car.

As is well known, these drop doors are held in their raised or closed positions by operating shafts, onlyoneof which 16 is here shown, it being understood that there are usually four of these operating shafts,

two on each side of thecar, or,'in other words, one for each quarter of the car. The

operating shaft 16 is mounted to move laterally in a slot 17 formed in a transverse frame member 18 of the car structure. When the drop doors are in their elevated positions, the operating shaft in each quarter of the car takes a position under the doors and at the inner end of the slot17, whereby the doors are maintained in raised or closed position.

In order to permit the doors to swing downwardly into their opened position, the operating shaft in each case is moved out wardly in the slot 17 as it is rotated in any approved manner. When the shaft has moved tothe outer limit of the slot 17, the doors are free to pass'downinto their opened positions.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings,- the drop doors 11 and 12 are dropped to a lesser extent than the doors 13 and 1 1 in the middle of the car, thisbeing true for obvious reasons. Heretofore drop doors have been supported in their lowered or opened positions by suitable. saddles in the form of brackets. or. framework of the under structure of the car. However, chains connected to the operating shafts and drop doors have been used for assisting in the opening and closing ofthe drop doors. In each quarter of thecar the operating shaft has been connected by chains of equal length to the drop doors, although the drop doors have been opened variable amounts. For instance, the drop doors located. over the trucks are not PATENT OFFICE.

Patented July 1,1919.

Application filed October 25, 1917. Serial No. 198,443.

opened to the same extent as the drop doors than the chains connecting the other drop doors which open a greater amount. These chains, however, have not been used for supportedly suspending the drop doors in their open positions.

In the present case, the chains connecting the drop doors andoperating shaft serve a double function. They assist in opening and closing the doors and also supportedly suspend the doors in their various opened positions, regardless of the extent of drop. By referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that chains 19, which are connected to the operating shaft 16, are completely unwound and have their free ends connected to the drop doors 13 and 14 to hold said doors 13 and 14 in their lowermost positions. It will be noted also that chains 20, shorter in length, are connected to the drop doors 11 and 12, and also to collars 21 mounted upon the operating shaft 16 for holding the drop doors 11 and 1-2 in their lowermost positions. In view of the fact that the chains 20 are shorter than the chains '19, the drop doors 11 and 12 are not permitted to drop or open to the extent that the other drop doors 13 and 14 are.

In order that the same operating shaft may be used for all the doors and still support the doors by the chains in the1r opened positions, regardless of the extent of drop of the doors, the collars 21 are loosely mounted upon the shaft 16 .a-nd have connected thereto chains 22, the opposite end of each of which is secured to the operating shaft16. By means of this arrangement, it is apparent, reference being had to Fig. 1, that if the operating shaft 16 is rotated in a manner to raise the doors, the doors 13 and 14, which open a greater amount than doors 11 and 12, will first be moved upwardly toward a closed position without any raising movement being transmitted to the doors 11 and 12. This is made possible by means of the collars 21 being loose on the shaft. At the same time, however, the chains 22 will be wound on the shaft 16. No lifting or closing movement will be transmitted to the doors 11 and 12 until the chains 22 are completely wound upon the .shaft 16, whereupon the collars 21 no longer will be permitted to have a relative movement with respect to the operating shaft 16, and all of the doors 11, 12, 13 and 14 will be raised simultaneously and moved into a closed position simultaneously, whereupon the operating shaft 16 will pass under said doors to retain the same in closed position.

In opening the drop doors, the operating shaft 16 is actuated in a manner to move from under the drop doors, whereupon the latter will be permitted to lower. As soon as the chains 20 have become completely unwound from the'shaft 16, the drop doors 11. and 12 are supportedly suspended in their lowermost positions, and said drop doors can move downwardly no further. However, the other drop doors 13 and 14 are free to continue an opening movement to a greater extent in view of the fact that the chains 19 have not become completely unwound from the shaft 16. During this further move ment of the shaft 16 to permit the drop doors 13 and 14 to open a greater amount, the collars 21 have a relative movement with respect to the operating shaft 16, whereupon the chains 22 are unwound from the shaft without having any effect upon the doors 11 and 12.

By means of this arrangement it is apparent that the drop doors may be supported by their respective chains regardless of the extent of opening of said drop doors, all of the drop doors being closed simultaneously.

It is apparent that there may be various modifications of the invention as herein particularly shown and described, and it is my intention to cover all such modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway car, a drop door, an operating shaft therefor, a collar loosely mounted on said shaft, a connection between said collar and said door, and a flexible member connecting said collar and said shaft whereby the shaft may be actuated a given amount without transmitting movement to said door.

2. In a railway car, a plurality of drop doors, the extent of drop of which differs, an operating shaft, and connections between said operating shaft and said doors whereby one of said doors will be opened a given amount and retained while another door opens a different amount and is there retained, one of said connections including a collar loose on the shaft and flexible members connecting said collar to said shaft and one of said doors.

3. In a railway car, a plurality of drop doors, the extent of drop of which differs, an operating shaft, a connection between one of said doors and said operating shaft, a member loosely mounted upon said operating shaft, and connections at all times maintained from said member to said shaft and to another of said doors.

4. In a railway car, a drop door, an operating shaft therefor, a collar loosely mounted upon said shaft, a connection between said collar and said door, and a connection maintained between said collar and said shaft whereby the shaft may be actuated a given amount without transmitting movement to said door.

5. In a railway car, a drop door, an opsaid shaft whereby the shaft may be actuated enating shaft therefor, 'a collar loosely Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 20th day mounted upon said shaft, a flexible connecof October, A. D. 1917.

tion between said collar and said door and a flexible connection between said collar and DAVID HINDAHL' Witnesses:

CARL E. J ORGENSEN,

a given amount Without transmitting move- ALBERT H. REDFORD.

ment to said door.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. .iWashington, I). G." 

